Welcome to SR’s Fab 5 – my weekly insider column on the Bucs that features five things that are on my mind. SR’s Fab 5 is now a quicker read, but still packs a punch. Enjoy!

FAB 1. Is A Contract Extension Coming For Mike Evans?

The Bucs’ 2023 draft has come and gone, and as you’ve seen around the league, draft picks are getting signed left and right.

Except in Tampa Bay.

That’s because the Bucs continue to be salary cap-strapped and have just $471,791 in cap room, according to OverTheCap.com. In order to create some much-needed cap room to actually sign the 2023 draft class, practice squad members and have a few million dollars left for in-season injury replacements, Tampa Bay needs more cap room.

Cue the extension for Mike Evans.

It’s coming this summer.

The four-time Pro Bowl receiver is entering a contract year after signing a five-year extension worth $82 million in 2019. Evans, who turns 30 in August, is the most prolific receiver in Tampa Bay history and the franchise’s best offensive player. He’s the only receiver to begin his career with nine straight seasons with 1,000 yards.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bucs general manager Jason Licht and vice president of football administration Mike Greenberg have done contract restructures with nose tackle Vita Vea, center Ryan Jensen, cornerback Carlton Davis III and wide receiver Chris Godwin to clear $44 million this offseason, in addition to forcing Russell Gage to take a $3 million pay cut. Tampa Bay was also able to re-sign the likes of cornerback Jamel Dean, insider linebacker Lavonte David and outside linebacker Anthony Nelson this offseason as a result.

Now it’s Mike Evans’ turn.

Not only will a contract extension for Evans lock up the future Bucs Ring of Honor inductee and Hall of Famer, it will also aid the Bucs’ 2023 salary cap situation. Evans has a cap hit of $23,698,500 this season, which is the biggest in Tampa Bay.

With Chris Godwin as the highest-paid Bucs receiver making an average of $20 million per season on his three-year, $60 million deal, Evans could fetch a similar deal. Perhaps a two-year extension worth $40 million with $30 million in guaranteed money. That could free up $9.335 million in 2023 cap space and give the Bucs the room to sign their rookies once Evans’ extension is finalized later this summer. Here’s what that contract could look like, according to Pewter Report’s salary cap expert Josh Queipo via the salary contract generator on OverTheCap.com.

Evans’ new 2023 cap number would be $14,363,500 and his 2024 cap number would be $23,511,000, with a 2025 cap number of $27,446,000. Evans already has one voidable year in 2024 with a cap charge of $12,198,000. That void year would move to 2026 with a contract extension and have a  $6,576,000 cap charge. There would also be an additional void year created in 2027 with a cap charge of $4 million.

As Queipo posted on Twitter, the Bucs need $9,161,270 to sign all of their draft picks. But in reality, Tampa Bay only needs $3,161,270 due to the Top 51 salary rule.

Bucs WRs Chris Godwin and Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Wouldn’t Evans want to make more money than Godwin, who makes an average of $3.5 million more per year than Evans currently does? Not really.

There were whispers that Evans offered to take a pay cut to help the team keep Godwin last year if it was necessary (which it wasn’t). And Evans has never demanded to be one of the highest-paid receivers in the league.

In fact, he’s proven to be one of the most charitable Buccaneers in team history, with he and his wife Ashli giving away millions to those in need through his Mike Evans Family Foundation. Speaking of the Mike Evans Family Foundation, you can purchase tickets to attend the annual gala and meet Evans and other Bucs on June 10 at the Tampa Marriott Water Street by clicking here.

A contract extension for Evans gives him the pay bump that he deserves after leading the Bucs with 1,124 yards and six touchdowns on 77 catches last season with a team-high 14.6 avg. It also helps the Bucs’ cap situation and allows the team to sign its rookie class and financially prepare for the 2023 season. Perhaps more importantly, it locks Evans up through 2025 and gets him one step closer to retiring as a Buccaneer.

FAB 2. Bucs WR Corps Will Have Some Sneaky Talent In 2023

Wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin give the Bucs receiving corps plenty of star power. In fact, Evans and Godwin make one of the best and more productive receiver tandems in the NFL.

But don’t sleep on the rest of Tampa Bay’s receivers on the depth chart.

Bucs WR Russell Gage – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs kept Russell Gage for a reason – albeit with a pay cut. Gage disappointed in his first season in Tampa Bay with 51 catches for 426 yards and a career-low 8.4 avg. But after battling through a painful hamstring injury that robbed him of his quickness, which is Gage’s forté, he rebounded late in the season and wound up with five touchdowns.

Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales is excited about how his quickness can be used in his system, which might be a better fit for his skillset than Bruce Arians’ more vertical-based attack. Gage has a chance to earn some of his money back with incentives, so he enters 2023 healthy and highly motivated for a bounce-back season.

Julio Jones was a shell of his former self last year at age 33, and really only helped the Bucs in a few games. Scotty Miller couldn’t recapture the playmaking magic of his 2020 season, and Breshad Perriman was a constant disappointment after his lone touchdown of the season in a Week 2 win at New Orleans.

Evans, Godwin and Gage are locks at the top of the receiver depth chart. And sixth-round draft pick Trey Palmer is bigger and faster than Miller, as well as being more agile, which allows him to do more as a receiver. Pencil Palmer in as the fourth receiver.

That means there are two spots left on the depth chart and the Bucs have a nice mix of unheralded talent to compete for those jobs. Holdovers Deven Thompkins and Kaylon Geiger are quality receivers. While undersized, they bring speed to the table. Thompkins fared well as a fearless kick and punt returner this year, but he’ll have to fend off a challenge from Palmer to keep those roles – and a roster spot – this year.

New veteran David Moore is 6-foot, but weighs 219 pounds and is built like a running back. He comes with 4.38 speed and an understanding of Canales’ offense after spending the 2017-2020 seasons in Seattle as a seventh-round pick by the Seahawks.

Bucs WR Kade Warner – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Undrafted free agent rookies Kade Warner, Rakim Jarrett, Taye Barber and Ryan Miller add even more competition.

Warner, the son of Hall of Fame QB Kurt Warner, is ultra-confident and intelligent. He does two things well – get open and catch the ball. Warner, who I watched play every week for my alma mater, K-State, reminds me of a bigger, better version of Adam Humphries, an undrafted free agent who made the team in 2015 and proved to be a third down chain-mover.

Jarrett is a better athlete with more speed than Warner brings, and has just as good of a shot making the team as the fifth or sixth receiver. He appears to be a more likely option than Miller and Barber at this time.

Overall, the only detriment to this receiver group is it’s lack of size. Outside of the 6-foot-5, 231-pound Evans, the tallest receivers are Godwin, Warner and Miller, all at 6-foot-1. Only five receivers are 200 pounds or more – Evans (231), Moore (219), Miller (209), Godwin (208) and Warner (201).

But getting open and catching the ball is all that really matters in Canales’ offense. So whoever does that the best will round out a Bucs receiver room that has some sneaky talent.

FAB 3. Deven Thompkins Is Bucs’ High-Flying Ninja

I did a profile on Bucs second-year receiver and return specialist Deven Thompkins on Thursday, and his back story of doing parkour and catching wild animals led to the fearless attitude he brings to Tampa Bay. But just as remarkable is the 38.5-inch vertical the diminutive 5-foot-7, 167-pound receiver possesses.

Bucs WR Deven Thompkins – Photo by: USA Today

“At my pro day it was 38.5, but [my best] is 40 inches,” Thompkins said. “When the ball is up in the air, I feel like I get a little higher just due to the fact that it’s like – adrenaline, that I know that there’s somebody else trying to come get that ball. It’s probably like way higher than what I think it is.”

As mentioned above in Fab 2, the Bucs have added more talented competition to the receiver room, and Thompkins’ spot on the 53-man roster isn’t a lock this year. But I wouldn’t bet against him because Thompkins has a knack for playing bigger than his size.

Former Bucs receiver Breshad Perriman was a big fan of Thompkins last season during his rookie year.

“Height-wise he’s short, but he plays like a big man,” Perriman said. “You can tell when he’s out there he has all the heart in the world, I feel like that’s all you need. All that overpowers and rules over his height. He is just a playmaker. He’s super explosive when a ball’s in the air, he’s going to get the ball. He can jump out of the gym. Jump balls – he does jump balls better than a lot of bigger receivers. The way he gets in and out of his breaks is unreal. It’s crazy, he definitely has a special talent for sure.”

Perriman saw enough talent from Thompkins last year to know that he has the ability to be more than just a return specialist in the NFL.

“He doesn’t have a limit – I feel like the sky’s the limit for him and I think he knows that as well,” Perriman said. “The more he gets in there, the more he gets kind of comfortable, I feel like he’s going to do some great things. I know he expects the same for himself.”

Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. had to face Thompkins on a regular basis during practice and marveled at his speed and shiftiness.

Bucs WR Deven Thompkins – Photo by: USA Today

“He always has great energy, you can tell he’s really passionate about the game,” Winfield said last December when Thompkins was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster. “To see him in that role of being a punt returner and kick returner, it’s been nice to see him out there. He’s a great guy, so I’m happy for him. Every time a pass is thrown his way – you just see him jumping up, super high. He has, I’m sure, a great vertical because he is up in the air all the time getting the ball.”

Bucs wide receiver Chris Godwin is the latest to give Thompkins some high praise.

“DT and KG [Kaylon Geiger], they both have been doing some really, really good stuff,” Godwin said. “Obviously they were here for their first year last year, and every day and every week you see them improving. You see them improving in their play speed, and the plays that they’re making. DT is incredibly explosive. Probably one of the more explosive people than I’ve ever seen. He’s like a ninja out there.”

Don’t sleep on the Bucs’ tiny, high-flying ninja.

FAB 4. Bucs Look To Have More Fun In 2023

The 2022 season was not a fun one for the Bucs – or their fans. In addition to a disappointing 8-9 record in the regular season, Tampa Bay had a quick exit from the playoffs thanks to a crushing, 31-14 home loss to Dallas. Add in Tom Brady’s retirement a few weeks later and some added doom and gloom set in.

Bucs QB Tom Brady and OC Byron Leftwich – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

While the NFL is a big business – the most popular American sport – with team payrolls over a quarter of a million dollars, football itself is nothing more than a game.

And games are supposed to be fun.

There was turmoil on the team as  Brady was going through a painful, in-season divorce. Aside from that distraction, there was tension on the coaching staff as offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich’s play-calling left a lot to be desired and was painfully predictable. That led to a sudden drop off in points from 30 per game in 2020-21 to just 18 points per game last year.

Jason Licht may be the only general manager who watches each game on the sideline with his personnel staff comprising of vice president of football administration Mike Greenberg, vice president of player personnel John Spytek and co-player personnel directors Mike Biehl and John Spytek. That unique vantage point allowed Licht to notice on the sidelines that the players weren’t having fun like they used to.

No, it wasn’t the more docile sideline demeanor of Todd Bowles compared to Bruce Arians that gave the Bucs a sense of the blahs.

It was that the team was missing some of its fire-starters and emotional leaders that helped this team win a Super Bowl – and have a lot of fun along the way. Gone was fiery competitor Jason Pierre-Paul and the intense Ndamukong Suh on defense. And gone was wild man Rob Gronkowski with his ever-present smile and ukulele-playing, free spirit Ali Marpet on offense.

Bucs brass: Jason Licht, John Spytek and Mike Greenberg – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Ryan Jensen wasn’t having any fun last year either, as the Pro Bowl center was sidelined all season with a knee injury. It was clear that Brady really missed playing with Jensen and Gronkowski last year, and that struggling left tackle Donovan Smith missed lining up next to his best friend Marpet, who suddenly retired after the 2021 season.

So Licht not only wanted to look for great players in this year’s draft, he also wanted to find some real characters – guys who loved to play the game and were great teammates. In the first and fifth round, Licht and the Bucs drafted a pair of Pitt Panthers teammates with some automatic chemistry built in with defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis.

In the second round, Licht selected another long-haired ginger offensive lineman in fun-loving Cody Mauch, who has formed an instant bond with Jensen. Mauch played at North Dakota State with sixth-round defensive back Josh Hayes before Hayes transferred to Kansas State, so those two already have a connection as well.

YaYa Diaby and Jose Ramirez, a pair of outside linebackers drafted in the third and sixth rounds, are roommates and are already bonding. Their enthusiasm and the added competition they bring should provide spark to the Bucs’ pass rush.

Replacing Brady will be no small feat, but signing Baker Mayfield to compete for the quarterback job has brought some fun and swagger to the offseason workouts.

“He’s eager to learn,” Bowles said of Mayfield. “He’s got a bunch of energy every day. Guys gravitate towards him. He’s learning the system just like Kyle [Trask] is and they’re helping each other out.”

Bucs RG Cody Mauch – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

And new Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales is like a human can of CELSIUS, bringing tons of energy and youthful exuberance to the practice field and meetings, which is a sharp contrast to Leftwich’s more laid-back style.

“Yeah, it’s been really nice,” Bucs tight end Cade Otton said of Canales and his new offensive system after the team’s first OTA on Tuesday. “Everyone’s focused but everyone’s light and having fun. I think there’s been a good change, there’s been a good new energy in the building and out here on the field everyone was flying around having fun. Obviously, there’s a lot to clean up, it was day one, but everyone’s highly competitive and there’s just a new challenge this year. I think everyone’s looking forward to it.”

Having more fun on the field with an injection of new players, a new offensive coordinator and a new system could lead to more wins for the 2023 Buccaneers. And that would certainly make it more fun for Tampa Bay fans this season.

FAB 5. SR’s Insights On The New Bucs Offense

The media isn’t allowed to report on specifics at open Bucs OTA practices or the team’s upcoming mandatory mini-camp in early June. But here are some general observations about Dave Canales’ new offense, which is a vast departure from Bruce Arians/Byron Leftwich’s offense that Tampa Bay has run over the past four seasons.

More Zone Runs

Bucs OC Dave Canales – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As Canales has stated himself, his offense is similar to what Seattle runs with a healthy dose of mid zone and wide zone runs. The Bucs had some of these plays in the playbook last year, according to run game coordinator Harold Goodwin, but Byron Leftwich just rarely called them. The new-look offensive line is certainly athletic enough to run laterally and make the zone scheme work. Even rookie guard Cody Mauch looked like a natural in his first OTA practice.

There will be some man-blocking gap runs and some duo concepts, but it won’t be a staple in the running game the way it was under Arians and Leftwich. More zone, less man blocking. No trade secrets or inside info revealed. Again, it’s similar to what Seattle has run for years.

Horizontal-Based Passing Attack

An even bigger departure from the Arians offense is in the passing game, which was based on vertical routes and comebacks and curls. There are more crossing routes, slants, skinny posts and posts that are designed to get receivers the ball with more YAC (yards after catch) opportunities. The fault with the comeback routes and curls was that the receivers caught the ball with their backs to the end zone. That limited catch-and-run opportunities.

Instead of stretching defenses vertically, Canales’ offense stretches them horizontally – just like the Seahawks, Rams and 49ers do. Canales uses the width of the field to create space for his wide receivers, tight ends and running backs by rolling quarterbacks out with bootlegs and waggles. It’s fun to watch and the constant misdirection creates a lot of easy completions for Baker Mayfield, who should thrive in this system, and Kyle Trask.

More Red Zone And Goal Line Runs

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The reason why the Bucs struggled mightily in the red zone last year was because they rarely practiced running the ball in side the 10-yard line during the week. Leftwich would usually call passing plays, which infuriated some at team headquarters because it became so predictable on game days. It was no surprise that Tom Brady took a lot of sacks inside the 10-yard line – and it was criminal the Bucs wound up with just five rushing TDs all season. One of which was a Brady QB sneak.

The Bucs will be practicing running the ball a lot more inside the red zone and the 10-yard line under Canales. They’ll become better than a year ago through heavy repetition in camp and during games. By comparison, Seattle had 12 rushing touchdowns last season, including nine by rookie Kenneth Walker III.

The Bucs have bigger guards this year with 6-foot-6, 330-pound Matt Feiler replacing 6-foot-4, 310-pound Nick Leverett on the left side, and 6-foot-5, 305-pound Cody Mauch replacing 6-foot-1, 300-pound Shaq Mason on the right side. While the low man wins in trench play, size also matters in short yardage. Look for the Bucs to ground and pound opponents more often and at least double their rushing touchdown production in 2023.